All Rise...

Editor's Note

The Charge

"…As the rain enters the soil, the river enters the sea. So
tears run to a predestinate end. Find peace for a moment, my son."

Opening Statement

By the early 1940s, Universal already had two well-established monster film
franchises in its Dracula and Frankenstein series. A second Mummy film had been
made in 1940 (The Mummy's Hand) as had a
second Invisible Man film (The
Invisible Man Returns), both to fair success, boding well for perhaps two
further successful series with those monsters. Casting around for other
possibilities, Universal harked back to its 1935 film Werewolf of London with Henry Hull and
Warner Oland. Screenwriter Curt Siodmak was charged with developing a new script
with a werewolf concept and the result was The Wolf Man. Shooting took
three weeks and the film gained its final release title after an earlier title
"Destiny" was dropped. The Wolf Man was released in late 1941
and was quite successful, prompting Universal to produce four more films with
Lon Chaney as the Wolf Man during the 1940s.

The film has been available for some time now on DVD in a special edition as
part of Universal's Classic Monster Collection.

Facts of the Case

Larry Talbot returns to his father's castle in Wales and soon meets the
beautiful Gwen Conliffe in the local town. One night he goes to a carnival with
Gwen and her friend Jenny. Frightened by Bela, an old gypsy fortune-teller who
refuses to tell her fortune, Jenny runs into the woods where she is attacked by
what appears to be a wolf. Larry tries to save her and although bitten by the
wolf, manages to kill it with his cane. An investigation finds no sign of the
wolf, but instead the dead body of Bela. Further, Larry's wound mysteriously
heals itself overnight.

Larry finds himself shunned by the local towns-people who do not believe the
story of the wolf and instead blame Larry for Bela's murder. The next night,
Larry discovers his true fate. Bitten not by a simple wolf, but by Bela in
werewolf form, Larry has now become a werewolf himself. Unable to help himself,
he soon realizes that Gwen will be his next victim. As the local constable and
townspeople stalk him through the woods, Larry in werewolf form in turn stalks
Gwen.

The Evidence

The Wolf Man breezes by in a compact 70 minutes. It's a tremendously
entertaining tale, ably acted by a talented cast that belies the film's B
status. This is a horror film, but as with all Universal horror films of the
time, the pleasure is in the atmosphere they create and the sense of pathos that
most of them generate.

Starring is Claude Rains, one of the more under-appreciated actors of his
day. Much of his career was at Warner Brothers where he provided classy,
polished support to the studio's major stars such as Bette Davis and Humphrey
Bogart. But Rains seemed to have a special relationship with Universal because
every time he worked there, it seemed to be as the star of one of the studio's
horror classics. Other examples are The Invisible Man (1933) and The Phantom of the Opera (1943).
In The Wolf Man, Rains is the perfect lord of the manor with his
patrician bearing and smooth manner with the town's officials. His
transformation from skeptic to eventual executioner is believably done because
Rains understood well that human transformations are as much conveyed by changes
in expression, intonation and body language as they are by physical
reconstruction.

Also prominent in the cast are Warren William (a WB star of the early 1930s
now on the down side of his career) as Dr. Lloyd; Ralph Bellamy (the perennial
second banana in screwball comedies of the 1930s) here looking a little awkward
as police Captain Paul Montford; Maria Ouspenskaya, most effective as an old
gypsy woman who knows more about werewolves than anyone else; Bela Lugosi,
welcome as always in the small role of the old gypsy Bela; and the refreshing
Evelyn Ankers at her screaming best as Gwen. Interestingly, Lon Chaney Jr. (here
billed for the first time as simply Lon Chaney) seems a little bland as Larry
Talbot, although his earnestness makes for a likable portrayal overall in the
end.

For a B film, The Wolf Man enjoys good production values, aside from
the introductory scenes of Larry Talbot's arrival where too-obvious use of back
projection and a less-than-believable long shot of his father's castle mar
things somewhat. Otherwise, the various sets are realistically rendered with
good attention to detail, such as the observatory in Talbot castle and the
antique store in the town. Most impressive is the atmospheric marsh setting with
the ever-changing patterns of fog enshrouding the trees and their branches.
Memorable too is a fine music score (by Charles Previn) that does much to draw
the viewer into the various moods of the story.

I should also mention Chaney's make-up for the wolf man sequences. This is
the work of veteran universal make-up artist Jack Pierce who painstakingly built
up the werewolf look on Chaney's face piece by piece each day. Pierce was
rightfully regarded as a master of the make-up craft and was responsible for all
of Universal's classic monsters. However, his failure to embrace newer make-up
techniques, including the use of rubber appliances that reduced make-up times
substantially, resulted in his being let go by Universal later in the 1940s.

Universal have given us a fairly good, workmanlike image transfer on its DVD
of The Wolf Man. The film is presented full frame in its original aspect
ratio of 1.37:1. There are numerous speckles and scratches and even an
occasional vertical line that appears from time to time, but the overall result
is quite watchable. The image is sharp for the most part and free of edge
enhancement. Contrast levels are good with fairly deep blacks and clean whites.
Scenes that deviate from this are the marsh sequences that are at times more
murky than even the foggy effects on the screen would warrant. The bottom line
is, however, that the entertainment value of the story easily makes you forget
any deficiencies in the image transfer

The sound is Dolby Digital mono and is in good shape. Dialogue is clear and
the music score is well rendered. Hiss and distortion are absent although there
is some variation in volume level.

As with the other initial titles in its Classic Monster Collection,
Universal has provided a nice set of supplements. First, we have an audio
commentary by film historian Tom Weaver. Aided by Weaver's pleasant speaking
voice and manner, this is a fascinating commentary, packed with information
covering production activities, anecdotes, historical perspectives, actors'
backgrounds, and so on. Too bad the film's only 70 minutes long, for it seemed
as though Weaver could have gone on twice as long with all the information he
has. Then, there's a new making-of documentary called "Monster by
Moonlight" that is introduced by John Landis. Much of this piece is devoted
to discussion of the werewolf make-up with some good interviews with
contemporary make-up artist Rick Baker. Of interest too are comments by Curt
Siodmak, the original script writer. Also on the disc are a lengthy poster and
photo archive, production notes, thorough cast and director
biographies/filmographies, and the original theatrical trailer.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

I don't have anything particularly significant to bring up here.

Closing Statement

The Wolf Man is a stylishly-made B film that, by virtue of a fine cast
and good production values, delivers A-level entertainment. Universal has done
the film proud with a fairly decent transfer and a fine selection of
supplementary material. Highly recommended.

The Verdict

Both defendant and co-conspirator Universal are completely exonerated. This
court is adjourned.